1. Field of the Invention
A crimping tool includes a pair of operating arms that are pivotally connected intermediate their ends to define on opposite sides of the pivot axis pairs of operating end portions and crimping end portions, respectively, a pair of crimping dies being connected between the crimping arm end portions, the adjacent surfaces of said crimping dies containing opposed first recesses that cooperate to define a first longitudinally expending crimping chamber adjacent the arm end extremities for receiving a generally rectangular telephone/data cable modular plug connector, and opposed second recesses that cooperate to define a second transversely extending crimping chamber for receiving a generally annular coaxial cable connector. Guide means are provided for accurately positioning the die members during pivotal movement of the operating arms toward the closed position.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Motor-driven crimping tools for connecting electrical connectors to cables are well known in the patented prior art, as evidenced by the prior Shutts, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,346, which is assigned to the same assignee as the instant invention. As disclosed in the Erbrick, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,445, it is also known in the art to provide hand-operated tools with ratchet means for preventing reverse movement of operating arms when force is being applied via force-multiplying linkage means. In the Paladin Tools 1300 Series Crimpers and the CRIMPALL Series Crimpers produced by the assignee of the present invention, the hand-operated crimping tools include a fully-ratcheting cycle with built-in safety release means. Interchangeable die sets are provided for use in different coaxial, fiber optic, modular plug, terminal and wire ferrule connector applications. In order to reduce the number of die sets associated with such crimping tools, the present invention was developed, whereby two totally different types of connectors—namely, rectangular modular plug connectors for telephone/data cables, and annular coaxial connectors for shielded coaxial cables—can be connected with the associated cable by the use of a single crimping tool.